The Revolt 86 is a new ski for 2019 and although it’s part of Volkl’s Freestyle collection, it’s designed to be more than just a terrain park ski. It does not use a symmetrical sidecut, unlike some of Volkl’s other twin tip skis, which suggests it should perform well as an all mountain ski. Tip and tail rocker with camber underfoot help boost the ski’s versatility. A full multi-layer wood core and carbon stringers should provide good torsional stiffness and energy to support the ski’s shape. In theory it should be a playful, fun, responsive all mountain ski that can play in the terrain park as well as around the rest of the mountain.
Noah Labow, a Freeride Coach who has spent a lot of time on twin tip skis, commented that he “loves this ski.” Noah gave the Revolt 86 5 out of 5 for quickness, playfulness, forgiveness, versatility, and overall impression. Those are the types of scores we were hoping and expecting to see out of the Revolt 86. He went on to say it was “super playful and a great carving ski at all turn shapes. (It was) playful and forgiving and the most fun ski I’ve tested.” Noah also felt like Volkl really got the shape of the ski perfect, resulting in a very versatile ski, “camber to rocker ratio was proper.” Noah was testing the 172 cm length.
Michael Carroll-Sherwin had a similar response to Noah. He too was on the 172 cm and scored it 5 out of 5 for quickness, playfulness, and forgiveness. Michael definitely found it to be a very playful, energetic ski, commenting that “this ski does not sit still… in a good way!” The Revolt 86 always wants to find something to jump off, to butter around, and in general just always wants to play. He also found that when he was linking turns, the “edge to edge transitions are effortless and fast.”
Marcus Shakun compared it to a pistachio. That’s not your typical ski analogy. He said it was “packed full of energy and delight like a pistachio.” Great comparison, Marcus. Marcus is a big guy so he was really asking a lot out of the 172 cm length he tested. Somewhat surprisingly, however, he found it performed quite well, commenting that he “couldn’t believe how stable and fun a 172 cm could be.” He thought it “made fun, energetic, short turns,” and for anyone from a tweener to an accomplished expert, it can be “great for everyone who wants to have fun.” Marcus definitely would’ve been better off on a 180 cm Revolt 86, although he did leave Volkl a note, “build a 188/191 please!”
Bob St.Pierre is another relatively big guy who tested the Revolt 86 in the 172 cm length. His response echoed Marcus’ and our other testers as Bob scored it 5 out of 5 for quickness, playfulness, and forgiveness and also commented that it was the “most surprising ski ever at 172 cm.” He went on to write “fun” 3 times in capital letters, although just like Marcus ended his comments by saying “(I) wish it was made in 187 cm.”
For skiers looking for a fun, playful all mountain ski you should be considering the Revolt 86. While it might be easy to peg it as a terrain park freestyle ski, it’s clearly much more than that. Carve turns, play around in moguls and trees; the Revolt 86 feels like it can do just about anything and always has a fun, playful overall feel. Maybe you want to split your time between the terrain park and the rest of the mountain? The Revolt 86 would be a fantastic choice.
